{"id":335,"date":"2012-07-23T09:30:05","date_gmt":"2012-07-23T13:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.massaudubon.org\/blogs\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=335"},"modified":"2012-07-23T09:30:05","modified_gmt":"2012-07-23T13:30:05","slug":"if-you-re-build-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/if-you-re-build-it\/","title":{"rendered":"If You Re-Build It…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>It\u2019s a story we unfortunately hear all too often. Birds were here, and now some of them are not. This is especially true for Grassland birds (i.e. birds that breed in open fields of 25-plus acres). According to our recent State of the Birds<\/a><\/em><\/strong> report, these birds are by and large, declining\u2014some of them precipitously so.<\/p>\n

But in the case of one Grassland bird, the state-listed Grasshopper Sparrow<\/a>, we have some exciting news to report! It all started back in 2004, when our Ecological Extension Service (EES)<\/a> joined forces with the City of Worcester and the Casella Waste Management Company to re-cap the 35-acre Greenwood Street Landfill while maintaining Grasshopper Sparrow habitat.<\/p>\n

For those who are unfamiliar with EES, it\u2019s a program through which Mass Audubon shares with conservation partners (land trusts, cities and towns, state and federal agencies) the considerable expertise we’ve developed in managing 34,000 acres including habitat restoration.<\/p>\n

The landfill was originally closed and capped in 1986, and the meadow that developed became Grasshopper Sparrow breeding habitat (eight males were observed there during our 1997-2000 statewide Grassland Bird Survey).\u00a0But when the old landfill cap began to settle, the whole site needed to be re-graded and re-capped.\u00a0EES proposed a phased approach to re-capping and supervised the 2010 restoration of the first re-capped area with a native grass seed mix.<\/p>\n

In regular monitoring visits, our EES team observed Snow Buntings, Eastern Meadowlarks, Bobolinks, and American Kestrels passing through and making occasional use of the site. But they still had their ears peeled for the elusive tik tuk tzeeee<\/em> of the Grasshopper Sparrow.<\/p>\n

This year, as EES staff visited almost weekly, some people wondered whether this bird that had complicated the project was ever at the landfill in the first place. Well they were, and now they\u2019re back!<\/p>\n

In early June, two males were observed singing in the restored grassland and defending territory from each other. No females yet, but with these territories featuring lots of little bluestem and dramatic views of Route 146 and the wastewater treatment facility, can they be far behind?<\/p>\n

Since this site is considered smaller than the optimal habitat patch size for Grasshopper Sparrows, we hope to continue to monitor the site to assess whether they are successfully breeding.\u00a0The remaining sections of the landfill will be re-capped and restored in 2013 and 2014.\u00a0If all goes well, the newly capped landfill will once again provide habitat for Grasshopper Sparrows and other grassland birds.<\/p>\n

The Greenwood Street Capping Project is currently an active construction site. Access is\u00a0restricted to authorized personnel and construction-related activities only.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Photo via Shawn Carey<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a story we unfortunately hear all too often. Birds were here, and now some of them are not. This is especially true for Grassland birds (i.e. birds that breed in open fields of 25-plus acres). According to our recent State of the Birds report, these birds are by and large, declining\u2014some of them precipitously […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12],"tags":[28,57,59],"class_list":["post-335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-project-updates","tag-birds","tag-grasshopper-sparrow","tag-habitat"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-5p","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16405,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-sorting-out-sparrows\/","url_meta":{"origin":335,"position":0},"title":"Take 5: Sorting Out Sparrows","author":"Ryan D.","date":"September 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"There are some birds that scream for attention, like Northern Cardinals or (more literally) Blue Jays. Sparrows are not that kind of bird. Sparrows are subtle, nuanced, and notoriously tricky to tell apart from one species to another. Commonly referred to as \"Little Brown Jobs\" (LBJs for short), sparrows mostly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birds & Birding"","block_context":{"text":"Birds & Birding","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/birds-birding\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Savannah Sparrow \u00a9 Phil Doyle","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/3063Phil_Doyle16673-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/3063Phil_Doyle16673-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/3063Phil_Doyle16673-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/3063Phil_Doyle16673-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9124,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/help-count-meadowlarks\/","url_meta":{"origin":335,"position":1},"title":"Help Count Meadowlarks","author":"Hillary T.","date":"May 16, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The eastern meadowlark is arguably the grassland bird species that has been hardest hit by the loss of grasslands (think large meadows and farmland) in Massachusetts. In fact, eastern meadowlarks have disappeared from more than 75 percent of the locations they were\u00a0found in during the 1979 Breeding Bird Survey. Mass\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Get Involved"","block_context":{"text":"Get Involved","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/get-involved\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/05\/EAME_DavidLarson_EasternMeadowlark-DLarson31.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/05\/EAME_DavidLarson_EasternMeadowlark-DLarson31.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/05\/EAME_DavidLarson_EasternMeadowlark-DLarson31.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16884,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/species-highlight-5-birds-for-bird-a-thon\/","url_meta":{"origin":335,"position":2},"title":"Species Highlight: 5 Birds for Bird-a-thon","author":"Kaylin D.","date":"May 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"On May 13, birders from across the state will be hiking quietly through bushes, binoculars in hand, patiently waiting for a bird to come into view. Throughout the heat of the day and into the cover of darkness, these dedicated birders silently wait. Why, you may ask? All for a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birds & Birding"","block_context":{"text":"Birds & Birding","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/birds-birding\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/KForesto-3663-750x500-69214820-c7a7-4824-8adc-c1f5db65b2b5-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/KForesto-3663-750x500-69214820-c7a7-4824-8adc-c1f5db65b2b5-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/KForesto-3663-750x500-69214820-c7a7-4824-8adc-c1f5db65b2b5-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/05\/KForesto-3663-750x500-69214820-c7a7-4824-8adc-c1f5db65b2b5-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7297,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/protect-the-bobolink\/","url_meta":{"origin":335,"position":3},"title":"Protect the Bobolink","author":"Mass Audubon","date":"April 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"By Lindall Kidd, Bird Conservation Associate With spring officially here, one of the world\u2019s most impressive songbird migrants, the bobolink, will be returning to Massachusetts. \u00a0Bobolinks travel some 6,000 miles to South America for winter, with some returning to breed in Massachusetts hayfields. Over their lifetime, a bobolink can travel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Get Involved"","block_context":{"text":"Get Involved","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/get-involved\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/03\/1793MarthaAkey6612-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/03\/1793MarthaAkey6612-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/03\/1793MarthaAkey6612-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16335,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/elm-hill-welcomes-new-birds\/","url_meta":{"origin":335,"position":4},"title":"Elm Hill Welcomes New Birds","author":"William Freedberg","date":"September 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Some species of\u00a0threatened\u00a0open-country birds\u00a0are expanding into new habitat created for them at Elm Hill in Brookfield, a Mass Audubon sanctuary focused on providing shrubland, grassland, and young forest. Prior to this year, Elm Hill was defined by a patchwork of forest and overgrown agricultural fields, some of which were separated\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birds & Birding"","block_context":{"text":"Birds & Birding","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/birds-birding\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/16738143693_601cab9d4e_o-e1631631719416.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/16738143693_601cab9d4e_o-e1631631719416.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/16738143693_601cab9d4e_o-e1631631719416.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/09\/16738143693_601cab9d4e_o-e1631631719416.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2092,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/great-bird-migration-spots\/","url_meta":{"origin":335,"position":5},"title":"Great Bird Migration Spots","author":"Hillary T.","date":"April 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s the event that bird watchers around the state have been waiting for: spring migration, the time of year when birds leave their winter grounds and head north. Typically, spring migration in Massachusetts lasts from early March to early June, with the peak usually falling sometime around Mother\u2019s Day for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Get Outdoors"","block_context":{"text":"Get Outdoors","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/get-outdoors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2013\/04\/2-warbler-2-IMG_7245_ni_pwp.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}